On May 25, 2021, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) issued the interim measures for processing of related examination businesses regarding the implementation of the amended patent law (the Measures).[1] Both the Measures and the amended patent law (the Law) will take effect on June 1, 2021.
The Measures allow applicants to submit applications or petitions for the following, which will be examined after the implementing regulations of the Law take effect:
- Design patent applications filed on or after June 1, 2021: design patent protection for partial design (the Law, Art. 2(4), the Measures, Art. 1); domestic priority claim (the Law, Art. 29(2), the Measures, Art. 3).
- Grace period of disclosure for patent applications filed on or after June 1, 2021: first disclosure for public interests in emergency of the state (the Law, Art. 24(1), the Measures, Art. 1).
- Patent term compensation for invention patents issued on or after June 1, 2021, due to the unreasonable delays caused by the CNIPA during prosecution can be requested by the patentee within three months from the issuance of the patent (the Law, Art. 42(2), the Measures, Art. 5).
- Patent term compensation for invention patents “related to new drugs that receive marketing approval in China” for marketing approval can be requested by the patentee within three months from the approval on or after June 1, 2021 (the Law, Art. 42(3), the Measures, Art. 6).
[1] The CNIPA issued the notice on the Measures on May 25, 2021. See https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2021/5/25/art_564_159634.html.